KEETMANSHOOP - //Kharas Regional Governor Lucia Basson, has urged those in leadership positions to come up with solutions to problems affecting residents in their areas so that they could improve the lives of ordinary citizens.

Speaking at an investment conference consultative meeting at Keetmanshoop yesterday, Basson said residents of //Kharas can no longer continue to languish in poverty while there is such an abundance of natural resources and therefore it is up to the leaders to come up with ways on how to ensure that these natural resources fully benefit the residents.

She said while the region is blessed abundantly with resources, that can be turned into income and employment creating opportunities, local people remains impoverished as most of them are unemployed and this according to her can only be changed if leaders come up with innovative ideas that will create jobs and other sources of income.

“We are undisputedly a rich region with abundance of natural resources, yet with poor and un-employed citizens, therefore, as leaders we must find solutions as to how to improve the living standards of our people,” she said.

She pointed out that it is therefore important that the region identifies natural resources in each of the seven constituencies that could attract investors, so that value is added to such natural resources and in the process, job opportunities will be created for local people, which will lead to improved living standards.

Basson thus called on all leaders and important stakeholders to identify potential income generating sources in each constituency so that it is easy for investors to have access to such information, so as to make it easy for potential investors when they are looking for areas to invest in.

“That is why as part of finding solutions to the scourge of high unemployment rate, we have requested constituencies, and local authorities, to identify investment opportunities so that it can be packaged properly, so in short am basically saying our investment opportunities need to be profiled properly, to make it easy for investors to grasp,” she said.

The regional head further gave an insight of what //Kharas has to offer, noting that if properly tapped, the region can unlock potential in the farming, grape, dates, fish and lobster industries, adding that the region also has a huge potential for renewable energies such as wind and solar, while tourism opportunities also remain untapped.

She thus called on all stakeholders present to give their input and ensure that the planned //Kharas regional investment conference set for September 2019 is a success.